Rep. Joe Barton points to biblical flood as evidence climate change may not be man-made

Rep. Joe Barton called upon an event of biblical proportions to support his beliefs climate change isn’t entirely caused by humankind.

Barton acknowledged his skepticism on the cause of climate change during an Energy and Power subcommittee hearing on legislation that would give authority to Congress to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, first reported by Buzzfeed.

“I would point out that if you’re a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change and that certainly wasn’t because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy,” Barton said.

‘The Republican from Ennis said he does believe the world’s climate is changing, but the culprit isn’t as clear cut.

“I would point out that people, like me, who support hydrocarbon development don’t deny that the climate is changing,” he said. “I think you can have an honest difference of opinion of what’s causing that change without automatically being either all in that’s all because of mankind or it’s all just natural. I think there’s a divergence of evidence.”

Barton, a former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has reflected similar stances on the issues of climate change in the past. During the hearing, he also acknowledged his support of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Opponents of the pipeline, which would deliver oil from Candida down to parts of the United States, say the pipeline could cause harmful contamination to the environment if an oil leak occurred along the route.